


Open Line

by UselessLilium (o0whitelily0o)



Series: Kazumi Onimaru Appreciation Project [9]
Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Developing Relationship, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 16:14:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14139723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/o0whitelily0o/pseuds/UselessLilium
Summary: Kazumi and Shiranui talk about some very important things after the battle against Gyze.





	Open Line

Kazumi’s smile at seeing you slowly disappears, his eyes widening with dawning horror as they dart from your right shoulder to your left knee. Like he can’t take in the absence of both limbs at the same time. Well, maybe he can’t. He is rather small. Without really knowing yourself if it’s a smirk or smile, your lips peel back to show your teeth, and try to keep your tail still. “Are you not happy to see me, Kazumi?”

He jumps a little at hearing you, like he’d forgotten you were actually here. But at least he seems to recognize how uncomfortable his staring is, because he shakes his head and hurries over to your side. “I- of course I am, I just...” Even when he’s near enough to touch you, his hand keeps flicking forward and backward, unsure where to go. “What  _ happened _ ?”

You take your eyes off him to look at the stump where your left leg was, running a claw over the bandages. Like last time, there’s no pain from the injury. But even here, you can’t get used to the lack of weight or the way your body just stops at the joint. “It was during the battle with Gyze. Making amends for my part in his revival was never going to be easy, after all.”

You’re still not sure what to make of his reaction. You know it must be a shock, but he’s not saying anything, and that’s even more uncomfortable than the staring. Relief only comes when you notice tears building in his eyes. That much about his feelings, you can understand. When he reaches towards you again, you meet his hand with a few of your claws and hold it carefully. The tears start to spill out, and with his free hand he tries to cover his face. “Sorry, I don’t... want to make you tell me anything painful, but...”

“No, I’ll tell you. You should hear this.” He sniffs a little, and looks up at you worriedly. Your tail coils close to you, wings shuddering in something like exhaustion. “As Gyze had a vessel on your world, he had one on our own as well.” You hesitate for just a moment, but this is something you may have kept from his too long at this point. “The elf, Luard.” What little color there was on Kazumi’s face drains out.

“Luard...” You can practically see his mind piecing everything together, and you tighten your grip on him a bit. “Was- was that because Kazuma was possessed? Or... was Kazuma chosen b-because of-”

You cut him off with a sharp shake of your head. “I honestly don’t know all the details myself, I’m afraid.” He’s holding himself so tense he’s trembling, even in your hand. You want to hold him more tightly - and he’s small enough you think you could manage, even with only one arm - but you don’t know if that’s something he would welcome from you now. “But it seems like a plan that’s been in the works for a very, very long time, Kazumi. Without question, it’s not anything you put into motion.” He’s not answering, and he’s dropped his eyes and won’t look at you. You let go of his hand to brush the side of his face, in a way you hope is reassuring.

“Even so...” Then he shakes his head, letting out a nervous breath. “No, never mind. We’re talking about you right now. Please continue.”

“Well, it’s not a long story. Gyze was using Luard to function on Cray - someone needed to separate the two of them, and with my training I knew I’d have the best chance.” You shift, looking down at your right shoulder. “All things considered, I got off lightly. Gyze’s attacks would have killed me if I’d been hit directly. And I  _ did _ succeed. Luard seemed to recover quickly, once he was out of Gyze’s influence.”

“...I see.” He leans into your touch, and holds onto your hand with his own, squeezing as tightly as he can with the difference in size. “I’m sorry. If I’d defeated Gyze myself when I had the chance, maybe-”

“There’s nothing for you to apologize for.” You run a claw through his hair. “You heard me then, didn’t you? Our feelings were the same. Our  _ determination  _ was the same.” He nods a little, but still looks guilty. “We were both prepared to die to stop Gyze - you to save your brother, and I to stop what I’d helped create. I have no regrets, Kazumi.”

He takes a breath, and you expect him to speak, but instead his head slowly lowers and he starts to shake. You can’t tell until you hear him sob that he’s crying. And then, suddenly, he lurches forward to press himself against you. It’s an awkward position; he’s half kneeling into your lap, and too small to actually hold you the way you assume he’d like to. Even when you’re sitting like this, his head only just reaches your chest. But you appreciate the gesture regardless. You pull him closer to you with your left hand, until he’s fully in your lap.

“Thank you, Shiranui... thank you so, so much,” he says, as he sobs start to taper off, “I’m s-sure what you did for Luard helped save Kazuma too. I know it did.” He sniffs, trying to keep his voice steady, “I can’t ever thank you enough...”

“There’s no need for all that.” You curl your hand around his back gently, stroking him with your thumb. “It’s only natural for us to help one another.”

“But I  _ didn’t _ help you.” He curls against you tighter, his hands bundled into fists. “You’re the only one who got hurt like this, and I couldn’t do anything to protect you... even now, I can’t  _ do _ anything for you.”

“Kazumi.” You let a bit of a reprimand into your voice. “Do you blame me for your loss against Gyze? Do you believe I should have done more for you then?”

He practically rears back from you, eyes wide. “No! Of course not.”

You keep your hold on him, and lean down to look into his eyes properly. “And neither do I.” He blinks, and you press the side of your maw to his forehead, nuzzling him carefully. “Let that be the end of the matter, Kazumi.”

For a few moments he remains taut and uncertain. But then he starts to relax, letting out a long sigh. “Alright.” Rubbing at his eyes, he says, “Sorry. You’re the one who got hurt, and I’m making you comfort me.”

“It’s fine. This much isn’t a problem.” After all, you can’t blame him for worrying about whether he’s helping you enough. Not after how you treated him. If anything, you take it as an opportunity to assure him, clear and direct, that you no longer think that way. But that, you decide keep to yourself. You worry he might take it as an encouragement to keep being hard on himself for your benefit.

After a few moments, Kazumi says, “What about your clan? How did they take it, when they found out?”

“Ah, that...” Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that this part is harder to talk about than the actual injuries. Your jaw tightens for a moment, before you let out a sigh. “They were very upset, of course. And they’ve done their best to assure me of their support. But I’ve... already stepped down as chieftain.”

“What? You can’t!”

...His automatic vehemence is more than a little irritating. Your tail starts to lash, and you have to force it under control. “I don’t have much choice. I can’t lead missions or defend them like this.”

“But... what about prosthetics?” He means well, you remind yourself. But his frantic, earnest look for an answer only feels like an insult. Like you’d have come to this conclusion without actually thinking about it yourself. “You have things like that on Cray, don’t you? You must, there’s robots and magic and-”

“Do you really think my clan has those kinds of resources?” You don’t bother trying to hide your impatience, or your hurt this time. The retort snaps out, just bordering on a snarl. “We could manage some simple ones, but they won’t let me fight the way I did before. I’d only be a hindrance if I went on to the field like that. I’d be  _ lucky  _ to only get myself killed.” He’s staring at you again, and at least has the self-awareness to look ashamed with himself. “I have to be realistic, Kazumi. That part of my life is over, and that’s  _ all _ .”

When he’s silent for a few seconds longer than you expected, you wonder if maybe you should apologize. Not for what you said, but for how harshly you said it. But he just says, softly, “...You’re right. I’m sorry, I’m sure it was a difficult decision for you. I don’t mean to take that lightly.” He sighs, dropping his eyes. “I just... know how much they all mean to you. How much that role meant to you.”

You’re still tense and agitated, but you force yourself to take a few breaths and calm down. “It’s fine,” you finally manage, once you’re sure you can speak plainly again, “I still have plenty of work to do, to get them to a point they can manage without me. Our entire hierarchy needs to be changed. It will be some time before I can step away from leadership fully.”

“...What are you going to do then?” His expression and tone are very carefully neutral, but that just makes his nervousness more clear to you. You feel yourself soften, then, as you realize just what he’s so worried about.

“I don’t know,” you have to admit, even as he looks at you, tensing slightly, “But even then, I have no intention of disappearing. It’s not even a consideration for me.”

The neutrality on his face finally gives way to clear, simple anxiety. “Do you promise?”

“Yes.” You lean down and nuzzle him again. Gently, so as not to scrape him with your ridges. He eases into the touch a little. And then, to your surprise, turns his face to press his lips to the side of your mouth. You think feel your wings flutter.

He pulls away, uncertain. “Sorry... was that alright?”

“Yes. Though I’m sorry I can’t return it.” Considering it, you suppose you could lick his face in exchange. But that feels a little too dog-like at the moment.

He laughs a little. “Don’t worry about that. You’ve done plenty for me already.” He starts nestling up against your chest again, smiling a little. “If it’s something I can do for you, I want to.”

Perhaps you’re still raw from having to talk about your clan, but hearing that again is a little frustrating. “Still saying things like that... you’re using the same deck as before, aren’t you? Even now.”

“Well, of course.”

“Then you’re still keeping us together, and honoring those who have fallen. That’s already something very valuable to me, Kazumi.” He doesn’t say anything, but you feel disbelief in his silence. So you continue, “Even against Gyze... knowing what Luard meant to your brother, what your brother meant to you. The lengths you were prepared to go to yourself.” You hope he can tell you’re smiling this time. “I was fighting him for myself too, of course. And for my clan, and all of Cray. But it’s easier to accept how things turned out, knowing I was also protecting someone important to you.”

“...Shiranui.” You don’t know how to read his expression. There’s some of the awe you’ve seen in your clansmen, you think, as well as the worry you’ve grown too used to seeing on him. But there’s something more subtle there too, that you can’t quite grasp. And then he says, “I love you.”

...Oh.

Your wings flutter again.

Right away, he drops his eyes, face reddening as he starts to babble, “Sorry, um. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that- but you don’t need to- to say it back, or anything like that. I just... I wanted you to know how much you mean to me, too. I’m really... I’m so glad I chose you for my avatar. No matter what.”

You hold him as tight as you can without hurting him. “Don’t apologize for that.” His body is tense, but it doesn’t feel like fear, exactly. “...I haven’t had any time to really think about my own feelings. Especially in that sort of light. So I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer you until I have. But you  _ are _ important to me, Kazumi.”

He nods against you, and you can’t see from this angle, but you think you feel him smiling. “That’s fine. I’m happy with just that.” The two of you stay like that for a while, and you wonder if the connection will fade out soon. It tends to when you’ve reached an understanding. But then he says, “Shiranui... if you ever want to, you can Diffride me again. I know you’ll be busy for a while, and Kazuma’s still recovering too. But afterwards, once things have settled down.”

Your tail flicks in surprise. “...Would you actually be comfortable with that? You don’t need to force yourself.”

You can’t see his expression, but he sounds sheepish when he admits, “Well... not a long Diffride. I don’t think I could handle something like that. But a few hours, maybe? To start with at least.” He runs a hand against your chest. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to do together with you. Especially now. I’ve been going out more, and trying different things, and... I want to share them with you, if I can.”

“Something tells me your brother wouldn’t approve.” You snort lightly, but you’re still smiling.

“He’ll understand, if I let him know ahead of time.” Then, after a moment to think about it, “...Probably.”

At the uncertain admission, you can’t help but laugh a bit. Kazumi looks up at you for a moment, then smiles and starts chuckling himself. You pet him, a few fingers running down his hair and back, and admit, “Alright, I do think I’d like that. After I’ve sorted things out with my clan.” Which reminds you... “How has your brother been doing, by the way?”

You expected that question to open the floodgates, and you’re not disappointed. Kazumi talks at length about how Kazuma’s been faring, how he’ll be discharged from the hospital soon, and how his mother gave him permission to bring Kazuma home. You don’t mind, though. And before you wake back up on Cray, it feels like hours have passed between the two of you here, in your talks about your families and plans for the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Things Kazumi did not mention because 'it's not THAT important': he has also been in the hospital, because Gyze's attack broke a couple of his ribs.


End file.
